


Before the Blues

by TheShadowOfASoldier



Series: Old World Blues [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Character Death, Drama, Explicit Language, F/F, Fallout, Prequel, Romance, Teenagers, Vault 101
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-10-25 07:48:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShadowOfASoldier/pseuds/TheShadowOfASoldier
Summary: Work, Meet, Dumped, Then the budding of alcohol addiction.





	1. Blue Moon

I was tasked with checking inventory of The Vault medical apparatus, checking and rechecking the seals on the little white pill bottles of varying labels. I counted and sorted each medicine type to see if the amount correlated with the recorded amount on the clipboard.

“Damn him…” I grumbled, feeling my lips stretch into a grimace. I had a child’s task that My father put me on to keep me from treating the patients he had waiting for him to do his damned job. He knew I was just as skilled a physician as he, if not better. Even if he doubted that my skill surpassed his own, it was naive of him to think me any less his child--any less the protege he had trained me to be. Conditioned as I was to support the weight of his many absences.

“Hey.” A soft familiar voice called out to me. _Amata_. I didn’t turn around, still absorbed in my irritation, further exacerbated by the memory of her ditching me yesterday for her father. Despite the fact that I understand that her father is The Overseer, I waited for hours and was left with no word from her, and a smug response from her father when I asked if she was okay. I attempted to shake the thought from my head.

“Hey, Lucky…” Her voice was hesitant, but I refused to acknowledge her, opting to be more productive--by pretending medications I had long since signed off on. “Please.” She whispered, her voice desperate and lightly rasped and my resolve weakened. I sighed, setting down the medical clipboard on the cabinet, turning around to face her. I had leaned against the cabinet, legs open, resting in a wide ‘V’ daring her to step inside. To my surprise, she did. Her thighs brushed the inside of mine as she rested her forehead on my own, her fingers brushed my hand which was resting on my thighs. I moved them to her hips, lips awkwardly quirking into a smirk as I felt her breath on my cheek. Even though I hated that she knew just how to get me to listen, I couldn’t help but feel amused, and the whispers of the beginning of increasing arousal. I shifted uncomfortably. She was a puppet master, and she pulled my strings. I, because of course, played to her hand.

“Yeah?” I asked, nearly breathless and astounded by her teasing. Damn her, she made me feel like I had run screaming through this maze-like Vault.

“Dad finally agreed to me spending the night at yours.” She breathed.

“Really?”

“Yep.” She chirped, stepping away. I groaned, as she had taken my hands and entwined her fingers between mine before pulling away even further. Letting go, her arms swinging at her sides limply. I observed her, her tan skin was suddenly flushed. She had her black hair tied up hastily, wisps escaped and framed her face so perfectly I couldn’t help but stare at her in awe. Sh had deep brown, almond shaped eyes, with long lashes. Her nose was small and button-like. And pink thin lips stretched over a toothy grin, with a dimple in her chin. Pink dusted her cheeks as she began to speak.

“I-I was thinking that, since we’re both turning sixteen in a month, th-that we should probably st-study for the GOAT.” She stuttered out, smile seeming shaky. She turned slightly, trying to hide her face. I bit my tongue from telling her how beautiful she was. She didn’t believe me when I said it the first time; she simply frowned and shook her head. I chewed my lip, cursing at myself. I couldn’t actually have her. At least not openly, and I didn’t want to be her little secret.

“Okay.” I said after a while. I know, I was so obviously a lady of many words. “I just need to finish work, and then I will be right with you.” I tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. “I’ll be done in an hour or two. But I’ve gotta finish without any distractions.” I said the last sentence slowly, and she grinned, looking at me straight on.

“See ya tonight!” She nearly skipped out of the room. I turned, picking back up the clipboard and getting back to work.


	2. If I Didn't Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work, Meet, Dumped, Then the budding of alcohol addiction.

Three and a half hours later, I was finally let go. My father had told me to check up with the Overseer to ask if he had any medical concerns regarding any specific vault resident. After, I was pretty much sent on a wild goose chase, tracking down residents and bringing them to the medical wing for ‘Overseer-Wellbeing’ checkups, which he insisted they be called.

I was to attend my father while he checked up on those patients, as Jonas was sent to check the reactor hours before. It was to make sure that I knew what to do when--IF I were to pass the GOAT, he was quick to remind me. I found out quickly that everything I did he looked upon with mild distaste, why this rediscovery continued to surprise me, I don’t know. Despite his dismay, I made no mistakes.

After disappointing my father (for breathing, I silently theorized) for the infinite time, I was to go to the reactor level to get a short lesson from Jonas. And of course, something went wrong, but the problem, thankfully, was resolved quite easily. Jonas was impressed, and I was finally dismissed.

Tired, I let my thoughts wander to the outside as my feet navigated the gleaming, sterile halls of this hole. When I found my quarters, the automated door was opened, I blinked in confusion before cursing when I remembered Amata and rushed to my room.

I found her curled up on my bed, resting her head on my pillows as she fiddled with her pip-boy. Her body was faced away from me.  
“Hey.” I said softly.

“Hey.” Her voice was thick, and I immediately climbed onto my bed, curling my arms around her as I pulled her closer to my chest where she climbed into my lap. Her eyes and nose were reddened. She was cute.

“Why are you crying, Amy?” I pressed my lips to her hair, and she pressed herself harder into me.

“‘s just my dad.” She started, and I began rocking her, and her arms reached to drape over my shoulders. “He’s just… he’s just so… him! Ugh.” She shot up. “He started telling me how I’m the best candidate for Overseer, and like how I have to let go of my friends so I can do what’s best for the vault without any bias-” She huffed, climbing from my lap and onto the floor, pacing. “It’s just frustrating how he’s been telling me that--That-!” She groaned, riled up and looked at me, before climbing back onto my bed and throwing a glance at my lap. I roll my eyes and grab her waist and pulled her back onto my lap and before I knew what was going on her lips were on mine. 

I was ice under her touch, frozen and unblinkingly staring at her. And in my shock, Amata ripped herself away, blushing furiously and I looked at her. Her red face, deep brown eyes staring at my pale blue sheets and I grabbed her and let my lips find hers. She had always teased me before, but never followed through with anything. I will not lose this moment.

After a moment, I felt something wet and warm poking at my bottom lip, hesitantly. I parted my lips and her tongue slipped inside shyly, swiping ay my own tentatively. As time passed, so did her hesitancy. Groaning and squeezing her waist, I pushed her off my lap and onto the bed, urging her lower and lower as I climbed on top of her. I dominated the kiss, reveling in her soft sounds. Her lips were soft and pliant, like I dreamed they would be. 

I shifted my knee between her thighs, lightly grinding it against her as my lips moved to her jaw. Nipping her earlobe and going to trail kisses down her neck. Her hands brushed my ears and twisted themselves into my hair when I reached her clavicle, she pulled my mouth and moaned into it as I grinded my knee a bit harder against her. She lifted one of her legs and let it fall to my hip, resting at my waist, pulling me closer to her body. As the kiss grew deeper, her response grew more and more nervous until her leg slipped from my waist, her arms falling limp from my shoulders after her fingers untangled from my hair. I pulled away questioning.

She had covered her eyes with the heels of her hands before I could see them, the cogs and wheels that had begun gathering dust in my head from the moment she kissed me began to turn. Fuck.

“Amata, baby,” I asked quietly. “you okay?” She didn’t answer. “Can I ask why you kissed me?” I whispered, met with silence again. I tried to pull her hands from her eyes, running my thumbs over the backs of her hands. Her eyes slowly opened, but still didn’t look at me and worried the inside of her cheek. “Did-” Inhale. Exhale. “Did I do something wrong?” Her eyes snapped to meet mine.

“No!” She sat up, and her head slammed into mine. I recoiled, grimacing in pain. “It’s just that…”

“Why did you kiss me?” I tried again and she couldn’t look at me. I thought back at her anger and frustration toward her father before she kissed me. I stared up at a lamp behind her. “Was it to get back at your father?” I couldn’t muster anything louder than a whisper. 

“What? No! I wouldn-” She was frantic, and when my eyes fell to hers, she broke. “Maybe… a little. But ple-” I sighed, flopping back onto my bed.

“I guessed as much.” I said, tired, defeated. “It’s okay Amata, I don’t hold it against you. But… please, tell me the truth… was that the only reason you kissed me?” I felt the question burn my tongue when I asked it, terrified of the answer. All I got for a long while was silence. 

“No, it wasn’t.” I looked over at her, still sitting up and watched her lie down, curling up into my side. “I kissed you because I wanted to.”

I was silent for a few minutes, and she was too, so I tore my eyes from her and stared at the ceiling, thinking and gathering my fragmented courage. “Hey, Amata… If I asked you to be my girlfriend, what would you say?”

Stone, cold, dead silence, and I looked back over to her. Breathing was hitched, eyes closed but I could tell she was still awake. She was completely flushed, beneath her lids, her eyes were moving too erratically… She never fell asleep so quickly. Heh, points for trying, I guess.

“Okay.” I whispered, crawling up to her, kissing her nose and stroking her cheek before I got up from the bed, and left the room. I ended up breaking into my dad’s alcohol cabinet. He’s probably asleep in his office tonight. I thought, pouring myself a glass of whatever I grabbed. I stared into the glass, if I ignored the smell, I could almost believe that it was water.

I thought to my father, he always drowned himself in the stuff. More often than not, he’d rather be at the bottom of the bottle than look me straight in the face. I sighed, blinking away tears I didn't know were forming. I shook my head, chuckling. 

Time to be an irresponsible teenager for once, and actually earn my dad's disapproval. 

And I threw my head back, chugging the liquid as it burned my nose and my throat as it sloshed down, warming my belly.

I poured myself another glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been gone a while, damn. I've got an explanation though! This goes for all my stuff so here's the basics. (Might see this copied and pasted if you read my other stuff) Soooo, ultimately, my phone broke, and I had to get a new number, didn't remember my password and couldn't recover anything. Lost every digital work I've ever written... which was a lot. Like... a metric shit-ton. On top of that I "lost" someone I almost called a friend.
> 
> So, yup. Anyway since then I've kinda been stalling on writing anything. I mean I lost absolutely everything and it was kinda hard getting past that, but eh. I'm back. And I decided to slay ONE beast at a time, and try to create some kinda schedule. So, I'm working on Before The Blues exclusively right now. It's the shortest of everything, therefore easier to finish. I'll try post a chapter every two weeks, on a Saturday. And that schedule will continue beyond 'Before The Blues.'


	3. Why Was I Born

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A checkup, a talk and some questions answered

“As far as I can tell…” He paused, blinking his bleary eyes, still red from the bottle of whiskey he guzzled down the night before. I was ever-amazed at how he was still somehow fully functional.

Even with his eyes glazed over, his gaze was cold. He looked at me like he bit into something bitter while looking for something sweet, and even after all these years, I couldn’t help but feel hurt. I did what I could to snuff out the feeling quickly and glared back at him, hopefully with an even nastier expression.

“You’re a perfectly fit 16 year old girl.” His mouth twisted in a slight grimace. “So yes, you have to go and pass the GOAT Exam.” His mouth pressed into a thin line when he realized I wasn’t moving from the gurney. His hand rose and rubbed his temples. I was wearing down his patience. Good. “Go on now, you’ve got the GOAT to take.” He said flatly, letting his hand fall from his face with his mouth writhing into a scowl.

“Anything I need to know about the GOAT?” A lame excuse to stall, transparent to everyone in the room. He gave an irritated sigh.

“The Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test. GOAT, everyone here in the Vault takes it when they’re 16. It helps to figure out what kind of job you’ll have here in Vault 101 when you get a bit older. So pay attention, and try not to fall asleep."

“You know what the Overseer says: ‘We’re born in the Vault. We die in the Vault. Each is tested to determine their abilities, so that they may work for the betterment of All Vault residents.’ Sound familiar?” He ended the question with a snort, and I saw a spark of some sort of amusement twinge his lips. I felt my own mouth mirror his.

“So… we can’t leave, is what you’re saying.”

“That’s… not the way it works. And it won’t do if you go around asking questions so filled with idiocy. Especially around the Overseer.” He breathed in deeply, shifting his weight to his right foot. When he spoke again his voice was low, and he leaned close. “I need you to listen to me. This place… This Vault, it’s not perfect, I know. But it’s your home. You’re safe here. Stay on the Overseers good side and you’ll always be, you understand? You need to appreciate all you have, because what’s up there? What’s outside these doors? That’s not the life I want for you. And it’s not the life your Mother would’ve wanted for you either.”

 

My lips set into a thin line, my anger barely contained. He chooses this moment. _This moment_ to become my father, he decided _this_ was the moment he would care.

 

_And it was to keep me in this tomb of steel._

 

I snapped before I even realize I opened my mouth. “But you weren’t born in the Vault, _Father_ . And neither was I, so don’t _fucking_ patronize me. I’ve noticed the slip-ups, the references to outside that no one in this fucking hole should know. How no one here really knew my mother, or even those old pictures you’d show me of you standing outside.” I started feeling my eyes sting. “Don’t you fucking dare pretend to be a father after nearly every night, you’re at the bottom of a bottle rather than being able to look at me. Now is not the time, you’re too goddamn late. You don’t have the right.”

“Well,” He said calmly. “You’re my child. And it’s a hell of a lot better than being up there.” He breathed deeply again. “All your mother and I wanted for you was for you to be safe, and you’re safe here.”

“Damn you to hell old man.” I spit in his face, before sliding off the gurney. I started toward the exit before stopping, and turning. I saw him pinching his glasses between the thin fingers of his left hand, and wiping his face with his lab coat in his right. “But…” He looked at me again, he didn’t seem angry anymore. Or annoyed. He just looked much, much older than he was. “Never mind.”

“Wait.” He called out, me halfway out the door, as he started wiping down his glasses with a grimace. “Say it.” He settled his specs back onto his nose, they were ill-fitting. I stepped back inside, my eyes tracing a path for my feet to carve through the dusty floor. This had to be a hazard to the health of the patients. “Say it.” He urged again, a bit more forcefully than before.

“What…?”

“What…?” He mocked.

“What was she like? What was mom like, I mean.” He sighed, walking around his desk and sitting in his chair.

“You’re mother, she… she was beautiful. But beyond beauty you’ve ever seen.” He began fiddling with the medical bobble head he kept on his desk, avoiding my eyes. “There’s only so much those old pictures can never show… and she was passionate. About life, about love… but most of all…” he trailed off, his eyes growing so distant, even more so than his usually empty gaze, that I was afraid I might lose him. “Most of all, she was passionate about you.” He sighed, again.

“When she became pregnant, it was the happiest I’d ever seen her. Ahhh, she had great things in mind for you…” He blinked, bringing himself back from the ghost of the only thing he’d ever loved. “And so! Time for you to stop stalling and please… take these achievement tests seriously. The last thing I need is your mother’s ghost haunting me because her only child became a garbage burner.”

I looked away from him, “Yeah…” leaving the room, I was met with Jonas. I called out a dismissive greeting, barely glancing at him as I strode past him.

 

Was my father loving my mother as much as he did really worth being so broken after she was gone? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Short, but yeah. Nothing really to say(for once), but thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a Charon romance fic, because why not? But I decided to actually get to know the Main Character by writing them in something. Why not the intro of Fallout 3 while In the Vault? It's more streamlined in it's game play, with an actual set sequence of events, rather than the "Do what you want when you want" when you get out of it. But as it stands I might not get to Charon, and might just leave it at this "prequel" to a story I might never write. But I had this fic mostly written (Up until they take the GOAT, and all I have to really write is the escape...) So this'll be put out in full, all I gotta do is edit a bit and finish up. This'll be about four or five chapters in total. Anyway, hopefully you'll enjoy. Comment if you want to. I just decided to post this cause why the hell not?
> 
> Allllllso, I put this in a series just in case I do end up making the Charon fic. (which I'll damn well try.)
> 
> Also... I kinda love the music of the Era the FO universe pulled it from? I'm just saying. That's where the chapter names come from, I'll stick to songs used in the game. 
> 
> But Blue Moon? Yeeesss. I love it sung by Billie Holiday.


End file.
